Obituary: The Day the Hamptons Died?

It was a hot summer day. I remember it well, July 12, 2014: The day the Hamptons died. The death came at the hands of Frank Eltman, a Long Island online correspondent for the Associated Press, who wrote an article titled, “Workers struggle in Hamptons, playground for rich.”

The first two paragraphs read as follows:

“This is a town where people are so rich that a $2 million dollar home can be a handyman’s special. A town where the thrift shop is stocked with donations of designer dresses and handbags.

But Southampton, with its privet hedges, pristine beaches and some estates costing tens of millions, also is where 40 percent of the children get free or reduced school lunches, where a food pantry serves up to 400 clients a month and where some doctors and nurses share homes owned by the local hospital because they can’t afford to buy or rent.”

If you were an outsider reading this, what would your impression be? It paints of picture of the Hamptons rich and famous having little regard for those less fortunate. Many of us who live here know that nothing could be further from the truth. Does Mr. Eltman not realize that the same wealthy people who live and invest in the Hamptons are also creators of jobs?

Shouldn’t successful people be entitled to the rewards of their labor? Now that we have been exposed as soulless and uncaring aristocrats, perhaps there is nothing left to do but bulldoze our homes and return our land to its intended use…potato farming.

In contrast, I submit that if you traveled all over this great country, you would find nowhere that is more charitable and giving than our very own Hamptons.

And why pick on the Hamptons? There are hundreds of upscale cities in America where the “blue collar” workers can’t afford to live among those they provide services for, and thus travel to and from to perform said services. Ever heard of cities like Beverly Hills, Potomac, Gross Point Woods or Chappaqua, just to name a few?

Mr. Eltman, if you are going to pick on the place I call home, and the amazingly generous and wonderful people who live here, you better bring something more than cheap words and free school lunches.

What is your opinion on charity in the Hamptons? Take our poll below! (We will reveal the results later in the summer.)